MoUs worth ` 15,000 cr at 1st IITIS
The inaugural edition of Incredible India Tourism Investors' Summit (IITIS) 2016 saw an overwhelming participation of 29 states and Union Territories and approximately 3000 delegates from the travel, tourism, hospitality and related industries over three
Organised by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Tourism Finance Corporation of India, IITIS was inaugurated by Arun Jaitley, Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Government of India. About 700 investible projects were offered, 16 special state sessions were held, and participation from 250 national and international investors was seen where states and investors interacted in B2B meetings to transact business and sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
86 MoUs aggregating close to ` 15,000 crore were exchanged at IITIS 2016 and many more are in the pipeline. The event is to be held annually and will be supported by the World Bank. “World Bank is supporting India’s Buddhist Circuit development and will provide support for sustainable tourism development including through funds,” said Cecile Fruman, Global Direc- tor, Trade and Competitiveness, World Bank. The next IITIS will be organised in September 2017.
Over 1800 delegates from private sector project owners; banks and financial institutions; business developers; cruise liners; domestic investors; entertainment companies; Indian states with ready investible projects; state governments and Union Territory administrations; global investors; helicopter services; hoteliers; infrastructure developers; international associations; restaurateur; spa and Yoga centres; tour and travel operators; urban developers and venture capitalists participated in the summit.
Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture, Ashok Gajapati Raju, Minister for Civil Aviation, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Science and Technology, P.K. Sinha, Cabinet Secretary and many other dignitaries graced the occasion.
Jaitley said, “There are so many unexplored tourist destinations in our country. We need to market our monuments and heritage sites for promoting tourism and Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism can jointly work in this regard. A business model should be developed for promoting the hospitality industry which has to adjust to the capacity of the market.” He also pointed out that air connectivity has been substantially improved to many tourist destinations and condition of airports has also improved with many new airports in the pipeline. “We have the fastest growing national highways networks. Railways infrastructure and passenger ameni- ties have also improved and our railway stations will be developed on a par with our airports,” he added.
Sharma pointed out that medical tourism has shown a growth of 23 per cent last year and despite all odds tourism has shown a growth of 9.86 per cent in foreign revenue generation. “We are also planning to extend the e-visa facility to 30 more countries. The new Civil Aviation Policy will address the issue of air connectivity in a big way. We need to undertake infrastructure development in a targeted manner,” he said.
Vinod Zutshi, SecretaryTourism, Government of India, said, “This Summit has been conceptualised to kick start a fresh way of investments in India’s dynamic tourism sector and match the supply with demand. It is very encouraging to see the overwhelming response. The government is ready to facilitate but private stakeholders need to step up to invest.” He further added that with over 10 per cent growth rate in foreign tourist arrivals and more than 15 per cent growth rate in domestic visits, India is one of the fastest growing tourism markets in the world. “By 2022 the travel and tourism market in India is expected to touch $419 billion from present $150 billion posing a remarkable opportunity for investors,” he said.